Provincial officials in the southern Chinese province of Hainan have provided an update on the progress being made to turn the entire island into a free trade zone.
Authorities say in the year since the FTZ plans were first announced, 12 pilot projects, which cover economics, finance, international trade and the environment have been carried out.
Officials say as part of the "Action Plan for Optimizing the Business Environment in Hainan (2018-2019)," 40 different programs have been launched to attract more multinational companies.
They also say a "big data" platform has been established to improve government services. Officials in Hainan say the platform provides various information services for the public, while also offering online registration for companies. Hainan authorities say that in 2018, more than 140,000 new companies were registered, representing 22% year-on-year growth.
Hainan authorities say nearly 8,000 government officials were also dispatched to various villages in Hainan to help promote development. As a result, officials say around 86,700 people were pulled above the poverty line in 2018.
Dubbed "China's Hawaii," Hainan is a popular tourism destination. To expand international tourism, 30 day visa-free access to Hainan was expanded to 59 countries in 2018. Stats show 340,000 tourists from the 59 visa-free countries visited the island as of March, 2019, up 13.9%.
A more convenient and favorable off-shore duty-free policy is also being implemented. By the end of 2018, duty-free shops in Hainan registered 40.7 billion yuan in tax-free sales, with the total number of shoppers reaching 12.73 million.
